Forced air drier



G. S. CLEMENS FORCED AIR DRIER Filed Sept. 26, 1952 July 28, 1953 IN V EN TOR. Md

Patented July 28, 1953 FORCED AIR DRIER George S. Clemens, Evanston, IlL, assignor to National Dryer Manufacturing Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois 3 Application September 26, 1952, Serial No. 311,689

Claims. I

This invention relates to a forced air dryer, and is particularly useful for the drying of the hands. Other uses willbeobvious.

In hand dryers employed in washrooms at plants, public buildings, etc., it is of the utmost importance that the dryer be asafe instrument and be protected against injury and that the air delivered from the dryer be heated to a maximum degree consistent with safe operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide the above desired results while furnishing an eflicient stream of uniformly-heated air for quick drying of the hands. A further object is to provide such a structure which is protected against I "ing having a flat back portion adapted to be received on a vertical surface, such as a wall. The housing has a. relatively flat front panel H extending downwardly and rearwardly. An airdirecting nozzle l2 projects from the fiat panel I I. In the illustration given, the panel I I slopes at about 20 degrees relative to the fiat back portion of the housing. It is provided with a circular -opening [3 which receives the bushing or ring l4.

.The bushing or louver ring is held in position by the annular member I5 which is threadably received on the surface of the bushing within the housing Ill. The member [5 provides an overlhanging annular surface in which the rubber or .resilient washer I6 is received. The ring 14 is 1 provided with an outwardly-extending flange H which bears against a sealing gasket l8.

A fan scroll I9 is mounted within the housing 10 and has its outlet opening in registry with the air discharge opening l3 in panel I I. An impeller '(not shown) is carried by the shaft 20, which :in turn is driven by a motor (not shown) during operation. Rotation of the impeller causes air to travel from scroll l9 outwardly through the Ilouver ring or bushing l4 and through the curved nozzle l2.

The air-directing nozzle I2 is adapted to defleet air at an angle of substantially '70 degrees relative to the panel H. This nozzle has an annular recess receiving the bushing or louver ring 14 and a snap ring 2| is received in cooperating annular grooves in bushing l4 and nozzle (2. If it is desired to prevent rotation of the nozzle 12 and lock it in a downwardly-facing direction, 1 provide a setscrew 22 for the purpose, as indicated in Fig. 1. It will be understood that any suitable means for locking the nozzle I2 in a downwardly-facing direction may be employed.

The scroll l9 receives the heating unit 23, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. This unit, consisting of heat resistance elements, is received in the outlet duct portion of scroll l9 and heats the air discharging from the scroll. A detailed description of the heating unit, and associated parts, is set out more fully in my co-pending application, Serial No. 79,051, filed March 1, 1949, now Patent No. 2,634,514. r

The louver ring or support i4 is provided in its upper portion with a number of louvers 24 which are parallel and which extend forwardly in a straight line. Such louvers extend substantially at right angles to the panel I I. Below louvers 24' and in the lower portion of the support M, are a series of louvers which are tilted forwardly and inwardly. The lowermost louver 25 has its inner end merging with the support I4 and its forward end portion tilted forwardly and upwardly. The

- louvres 24 and, if the streams on the several louvers were projected far enough without obstruction, such streams would intercept. With the: structure shown, the louvers cooperate with the:

downwardly-turned nozzle in bringing the several.

streams into contact, producing a turbulence.-

which is highly effective in bringing about a uni-- form air admixture which strikes the hands for rapid drying. At the same time, the structure shown prevents anyone from extending a straight. instrument or device through the nozzle opening: and into contact with the electric resistance elements 23. It will be observed that the sharply inclined louvers 25, 26, 21 and 28 which are: nearest the mouth of the nomle present a uni-- form barrier to the entrance of any such instrument, while the remote position of the louvers 24 similarly prevents the extension of any rod or straight device into the interior of the scroll l9.

With the foregoing structure, the louver arrangement not only is effective in bringing about a turbulent and uniform mixture of the air streams, but also prevents injury to the electric resistance elements or to the persons tampering therewith by reason of the relative angular positioning of the louvers.

In the operation of the structure, the user stands adjacent the dryer with his hands below the nozzle l2 and closes a ,switch to pomplete circuits in which the blower and resistance elements lie. Air is forced through the Outlet of the scroll l9 past the heater elements 23 and thence through the louvers 24, Z5, 26, 21 and -28 and thence downwardly through the nozzle 12 onto the hands of the user. Drops of water upon the hands ,are directed downwardly and away from the clothing of the user, while at the same time the highly heated turbulent air is maintained at a uniform temperature throughout which is efiective in producing a ,quick drying of the hands.

If desired, the setscrew 22 may be partially withdrawn so as to make the nozzle [2 rotatable. I prefer, however, for the purposes of the invention herein, to lock the nozzle I2 against rotation so that the nozzle is permanently maintained in the downwardly-facing direction shown.

While, in the specific illustration given, I have set forth a single structure in considerable detail fOr the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the nvention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from t e spi it of m nve t n- I claim:

1. In aforced air dryer, a casing equipped with a downwardly-curved discharge nozzle, an electric resistance element in said casing adjacent said nozzle, means, for energizing said element, means for discharging air past said resistance element and through said nozzle, a louver support mounted in the discharge portion of the casing and louvers carried by said support, the lou vers in the upper portion of the support being substantially straight and parallel and the louvers in the lower portion of the support being inclined forwardly and upwardly.

2. In a forced air dryer, a casing equipped with a downwardly-turned discharge nozzle having a substantially horizontal discharge mouth, an electric resistance element in said casing adjacent said nozzle, means for energizing said element, means for discharging air past said resistance element and through said nozzle, a louver ring mounted in the discharge portion of the casin adjacent said nozzle, and a plurality of louvers extending across said ring, the louvers in the upper portion of said ring extending in a gener ally horizontal parallel arrangement and the louvers in the lower portion of the ring being tilted forwardly and upwardly, whereby said louvers provide a barrier to any straight instrument extending through the mouth of said nozzle.

3. In a forced air dryer, a casing providing a blower and heater chamber and having a downwardly-curved nozzle extending therefrom for the discharge of heated air, means within said casing for heating and delivering air through said nozzle, and a louver ring mounted in said casin adjacent said nozzle and having transverse louvers mounted therein, the upper portion of said louvers being substantially horizontal and par- .allelfor directing air in streams forwardly against the curved wall of the nozzle and the lower portion of said louvers being inclined forwardly and inwardly, whereby intersecting air streams within the nozzle produce a turbulence of the discharged air.

4. In a forced air dryer, a casing providing a heating and blower chamber and a downwardlycurved discharge nozzle leading therefrom, means for heating air and forcing the same through said nozzle, and a louver support mounted in the inlet portion of said nozzle and having louvers extending transversely thereof, the upper portion of said louvers being substantially horizontal and parallel and the lower portion of said louvers being inclined upwardly and inwardly, the lowermost of said louvers being its rear portion merging with said support throughout the width of the louver.

5. In a forced air dryer, a casing providing a heating and blower chamber and a downwardlycurved discharge nozzle leading therefrom, means for heating air and forcing the same through said nozzle, and a louver support mounted in the inlet portion of said nozzle and having louvers extending transversely thereof, the upper portion of said louvers being substantially horizontal and parallel and the lower portion of said louvers being inclined upwardly and inwardly, the latter louvers being inclined forwardly and inwardly the nearer they lie to the center of the support.

GEORGE S. CLEMENS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,375,920 Hewitt May 15, 1945 2,633,647 Jones Apr. 7, 1953 2,634,514 Clemens Apr. 14, 1953 

